The Mail-Journal, Volume 12, Number 11, Milford, Kosciusko County, 9 April 1975 — Page 25

Tune-up could save up to sllO a year

How would you like to save yourself nearly $110? If your car is one of those described by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPAj and other sources as wasting as much as 25 per cent of its gaso-

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line supply, then such savings are possible. Simple mathematics tell the story. Say your car travels 15,000 miles a year and is capable of getting 15 miles per gallon.

If you are paying 60 cents a gallon for fuel, your annual expenditure would be S6OO. Should you be losing 25 per cent in gas wasted, then you are out $l5O. According to that same EPA report, keeping an automobile tuned up can improve fuel economy. And a recent Champion Spark Plug Company survey shows the average cost of a tune-up today is around $42. So a tune-up every 10,000 miles plus necessary minor adjustments along the wav can save you a nice hunk of change. Even if your car saves the U.S. and Canadian average of 8.2 per cent after a needed tune-up. you’ll still save more in fuel costs than the price of the work. Gas savings under the circumstances described above would be just below SSO per year. According to David L. Walker. Champion's director of automotive technical

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services, gasoline savings are only part of the value of a good engine tune-up. Mr. Walker said. “In every test we've ever conducted, we’ve found a tuned car has better foulweather starting success than a car in need of a tune-up. In fact, untuned cars have twice as many 'won't starts’ than tuned cars.” A road service call for a start in a remote location where a tow is needed may cost about half the price of a tune-up. he noted. Tune-up benefits that may not result in cash savings still make driving safer and more pleasureable. In tests conducted by Champion, emission levels were sharply reduced after tune-up. Average carbon monoxide (CO) emissions were reduced 50 per cent (at idle) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions were 47 per cent lower (?lso at idle) after tune-up. Performance is also improved after tune-up. Mr.

Walker noted. In mooile dynamometer tests conducted by Champion, there was an 8.6 per cent increase in power and an 8.0 per cent decrease in passing distance after tune-up. Belts help reduce car fatalities Hospitals in Australia are reporting a drop of 24% in bed occupancy since the introduction of mandatory seat belt wearing legislation. In Victoria the belt wearing law has been in two years, and they have experienced a 20.8% reduction in road deaths. In the rest of Australia the seat belt law is just one year old, and there has already been a 17.2% reduction in automobile deaths throughout the country. Serious injuries, they stated, have been reduced by about 50%.